Ladder for elevator car emergency exits



Feb. 21, 1939. J. R. BRAY 2,148,099

LADDER FOR ELEVATOR CAR EMERGENCY EXITS Filed May 19, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l AJAJLM i/WA INVENTOR BY ATTORNEY Feb. '21, 1939 J. R. BRAY LADDER FOR ELEVATOR CAR EMERGENCY EXTTS Filed May 19, 1938 FIG-4 I W 01.0 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 21, 1939 LADDER FOR ELEVATOR. CAR EMERGENCY EXI'IS John Russell Bray, East Willis'ton,,N. Y., assignor to Otis Elevator Company, New York, N. Y., a

corporation of New Jersey Application May 19, 1938, Serial No. 208,797 5 Claims. (o1. z2s--34)i The invention relatesto ladders for emergency exits of elevator cars.

It sometimes happens thatthe elevator car is brought to a stop between floors. In certain of those instances, especially where the stop is an emergency one by application of the car safety brake, it is considered unsafe to attempt to bring the car to a floor to discharge any passengers that it may have. It is therefore desirable that some way be provided to enable these passengers to get out of the car.

In installations where twoor more elevator cars are operated in a common hatchway, the cars are usually provided with aligned emergency side exits to take care of this situation. In the case of single elevator cars, such arrangement cannot be provided so that resort is had to emergency exits in the ceilings of the cars. Ladders are provided for the occupants of the car to climb up through the exit. The present invention is directed to improvements in ladders for use in conjunction with ceiling emergency exits of elevator cars.

The object of the invention is to provide an emergency exit ladder which is of strong construction and which, when not in use, may be folded up so as to permit it to be stored in a small space.

Features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmental view in section of a portion of an elevator car, illustrating in front elevation the preferred construction of ladder applied to the emergency exit;

Figure 2 is a side view of the same;

Figure 3 is a front detail view, with parts in section, of the ladder;

Figure 4 is a side view of the same;

Figure 5 is a section taken along the line 5-5 Figure 3; and p Figure 6 is a section taken along the line 66 of Figure 3.

The ladder comprises an elongated tube of rectangular cross-section arranged in two sections 1 l and I2 to form a pole. These sections are joined by a short tubular member l3 also of rectangular cross-section, arranged to fit within the sections II and I2. Member I3 is provided with a pin l4 secured thereto, which extends into an elongated slot l in the bottom of upper section II. Member I3 is arranged to slide within sections 1 l and. I2, the pin engaging the ends of the slot to determine the limits of motion.

Each section is provided with a plurality oi rungs l6. Each of these rungs is of the same construction and is mounted in the same way in the tubular section. Therefore, only one of them will be described. The rung comprises a pair of levers l1 and IB pivotally mounted on a pin 20 extending through the tube. The tubular section is prov5 vided with a slot 2! on each side to admit the lever to the inside of the tube as it is swung upwardly about its pivot, as indicated in dot-dash lines in Figures 3 and 4 for one of the levers. These slots are enlarged at their upper ends to facilitate the extension of said levers when folded back into the section. When extended, the levers rest on the bottoms of the slots 2| and are also supported by lugs 22 formed on the hubs of the levers for engaging the inside walls of the tube. A lug 23 is formed on the outside endof each lever to provide a foot guard to prevent the foot from sliding off the rung.

From the top of the upper section extends a pair of arms 25 and 26 for holding the ladder in place. On the outer end of each arm is a lug 28 which extends through a sleeved aperture 30 in the elevator car ceiling, these apertures being provided adjacent the emergency exit opening 36. The spread of the arms is such as to provide a base adequate to prevent the ladder from turning. These arms extend through slots 3| provided on opposite sides of the tubular section in alignment with slots 2 l, and are coaxially mounted on a pivot pin 32 extending through oppositely disposed elongated slots33 arranged on opposite sides of the tube at right angles to the slots-3i. Each of arms 25 and. 26 is formed at the bottom with a hook member 34 which hooks over tubular section H at the bottom of slots 3|. This locates the 35 arms 25 and 26 in the proper angular relationship for inserting lugs 23 in apertures 30. A resilient supporting button 35 is secured to the bottom of tubular section l2 for wedging the ladder between the floor and the ceiling. 40

To take down the ladder, the bottom is pulled from its wedged position and the lugs 28 removed from apertures so. The bottom tubular section l 2 is pulled off tubular section I l and tubular section I3 is slid upwardly into section I I untilpin Hi is brought to a stop in the top of slot l5. The levers ll and H] are folded upwardly about their pivot pins into their tubular sections. Also, the arms 25 and 26 are lifted upward slightly to disengage the hook members 34 from the tube, the slot 33 being of sufiicient length to permit this movement. These operations may be readily accomplished by turning the sections upside down, whereupon these members will drop into these positions. The arms 25 and 26 are then swung about the pivot pin into alignment with the tube and permitted to drop into the tube. Slots 33 are of such depth as to stop the arms in position where a certain portion of them is exposed through slots 3| to enable them to be again lifted for erecting the ladder. The retracted position of one of the arms is indicated in dot-dash lines in Figure 3. In this way the operating parts of the ladder are folded and slid'into retracted position within the tubular members, leaving only the outer surface of the tubular members exposed.

Thus the ladder, when not in use, is very compact and may be readily stored in any suitable available space as, for example, on the outside of the car accessible by means of a removable or hinged panel or, for example, behind a section of the base-board 38, usually referred to as the kick plate of the car. A storage space for the ladder is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 behind the kick plate, a portion of the bottom part of the side of the car being bulged outwardly slightly to form a pocket to receive the tubular members. This portion of the kick plate is removably secured to the car panel as by screws 31.

When it is desired to use the emergency exit 36 to get passengers out of the car, the screws 31 are loosened and the kick plate is removed. The tubular sections are removed from their storage space and the ladder is assembled by putting the tubular sections together and sliding tubular member l3 down into tubular section II. Levers I1 and [8 are swung outwardly about their pivots to form the rungs, and the arms and 26 are pulled upwardly and swung outwardly about their pivots in position where the hook portions 34 engage the sides of tubular member II. The lugs 28 are then forced upwardly into apertures 30 and the bottom of the ladder is wedged against the floor.

Thus it is seen that a collapsible ladder is provided which is of simple construction and therefore economical to manufacture, which, when not in use, may be stored in a small out of the way space and therefore does not detract from the appearance or the carrying capacity of the elevator car, and which, when assembled in place, provides a rigid, safe meansfor the use of passengers in leaving the elevator car through the emergency exit.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof,

a it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is: V

1. A ladder for an emergency exit in the ceiling of an elevator car comprising; a plurality of detachably joined sections forming a pole, said pole having a slot on each sidethereof in its upper end and a plurality of additional slots on each side thereof beneath said upper end, a lever pivotally mounted in each additional slot adapted to be swung into such slot for storing and when extended to form a step, and members pivotally mounted in said slots in the upper end of said pole adapted to be swung into such slots for storing and when extended for fastening said pole to the ceiling of said car.

2. A ladder for an emergency exit in the ceiling' of an elevator car comprising; a plurality of detachably joined sections forming a pole, said pole having step members on each side thereof, said step members being pivotally mounted in said pole and means being provided for supporting said members when in extended position, said pole being provided with slots out of which said step members extend and to permit said step members to be swung from extended position into said pole, the upper end of said pole having anchor members pivotally mounted therein for securing said pole to the ceiling of said car,

' said pole being provided with slots through which said anchor members extend and to permit said anchor members to be swung from extended positioninto said pole, the bottom of said pole being arranged for engaging the floor of said car to secure said ladder in place.

3. A ladder for an emergency exit in the ceiling of an elevator car comprising; a pole of two detachably joined sections, each of said sections having step members on each side of the pole, said step member's extending into said pole and being pivotally mounted therein and said pole being provided with slots through which said step members extend and for receiving said step members when swung in from extended position, stops being provided for limiting the pivotal movement of said step members in their extended positions, the upper section of said pole having a pair of anchor members extending into said pole and pivotally mounted therein for se curing said pole to the ceiling of said car, said upper section being provided with slots through which said anchor members extend and for receiving said anchor members when swung in from extended position, the bottom of said bottom section being arranged for engaging the floor of said car to secure said ladder in place.

4. A ladder for an emergency exit in the ceiling of an elevator car comprising; a pole of two detachably joined sections, each of said sections having step members on each side of the pole, said step members being pivotally mounted on pins extending crosswise of said pole and said pole being provided with slots through which said step members extend and for receiving said step members when swung in from extendedposition, the upper section of said pole having a pair of anchor member's pivotally mounted on a pin extending across the upper end of said section, each of said anchor members having a lug formed on its outer end and said ceiling being provided with apertures adjacent said exit to receive said lugs, said upper section being provided with oppositely disposed slots to slidably support said pivot pin for said anchor members and with slots through which said anchor members extend and for receiving said anchor members when swung in from extended position, and a resilient button on the bottom of said bottom section for engaging the floor of said car with said ladder in place to wedge said ladder between said ceiling and said floor.

5. A ladder for an emergency exit in the ceiling of an elevator car comprising; a center pole of two tubular sections detachably joined by a socket member slidably secured in one of said sections to extend into the other, each of said sections having a plurality of rungs extending therethro'ugh to form horizontal steps on each side of the pole, each of said rungs being in the form of two levers having hooked ends and extending oppositely from said pole, said levers being pivotally mounted on a pin extending crosswise of said pole and said pole being provided with slots outof which said levers extend and which are elongated to permit said levers to be swung into said sections from extended position, the upper section of said pole having a pair of arms pivotally mounted on a pin extending across the upper end of said section, each of said arms having a lug formed on its outer end and said ceiling being provided with apertures adjacent said exit to receive said lugs, said upper section being provided with oppositely disposed slots to slidab-ly support said pivot pin for said arms and with slots out of which said arms extend and which extend to the top of the section to permit said arms to be swung into the section from extended position, the depth of said pin slots being such as to render said arms accessible through their slots when folded back into said section, each arm also being provided with hook portions to engage said section at the bottom of the slots for said arms when said arms are extended to properly position said lugs to extend into said apertures, and a resilient button on the bottom of said bottom section of said pole for engaging the floor of said car with said ladder in place to wedge said ladder between said ceiling and said floor.

JOHN RUSSELL BRAY. 

